NLP Training, Techniques & Products for learning NLP

Hot on the campaign trail to the Whitehouse there have been some very good ads put together in recent months. As NLPers there is so much we can learn from seeing how the media is shaping and influencing people's thoughts about the Presidential candidates.

A stroke of genius was by the the folks who did the original Budweiser Wassup advert. This time, the original guys who starred in that super successful advert have been brought back for a political broadcast. For guess who .. Obama.

This time, the famous "wassup" guys play a parody on the current climate.

The scene opens up eight years on from the last time we meet the "Wassup" guys and does a masterful job on pacing the audience regarding the downturn, war and current economic situation. They never directly say "if you vote McCain you will get more of the same unpopular policies" but rather they lead you from the current reality facing many US citizens and and lead you from there to laughter and hit you with the idea of "Vote Obama if you want change" and the implied brighter hope.

Click below to watch

In the run down to the election, see how the media and adverts are being used to take a position and influence you to believe one thing over an another. If you want to enhance your skills analyze how the media present ideas, what things they say or show first, second, third … and what conclusions they want you to beleive. No doubt there will be many more great examples that can greaty enhance your NLP.

Like many people I'm a big fan of the west wing, it's a fascinating show and the way the writers create the story and engage the audience week after week is very compelling. Next time it is on notice how they elicit all manner of states from you. What can you learn from the way the combine story lines?
The advertising industry has had to be more innovative and sneaky in recent years in how they implant suggestions and build unconscious associations in potential clients. The average punter is far more cynical and skeptical than in times gone by. This has meant the old approaches of saying buy this because it’s good for you aren’t as effective as before. To compensate advertiser try to create “viral ads” on the Internet (think Budweiser), putting brand, music albums and promotional posters inside of computer games (think Grand Theft Auto, Splinter Cell) and of course coming up with new ways of doing discreet product placements.

One of the best examples I saw of embedded suggestion and covert product placement of late, was when watching a re-run of episode 3 from series 2 of the west wing. Early into that episode, we find Charles, the Presidents aide, being interrupted by the Margret the Chief of Staffs aide where she says:

Margret:

Charlie, Mrs Landingham asked me to ask you to call technical support and have them look at her computer. You are supposed to ask for a man named Andrew Macintosh. He is the only one she trusts.

Charles:

Macintosh?

Yes, Like the Apple.

Charles:

Sure.

Margret:

Thank You

Charles then leaves that scene and a new dialogue starts.

Toward the end of the show, the writers pick up on the Macintosh guy and why he's so valuable.
The fascinating thing is it fitted within a normal conversation and to the average viewer, the whole conversation would of seemed

• Unimportant
• Pass without any conscious notice
• Have been unaware of the product placement of the idea of “Apple" with the idea of "Trust” and the implied idea of "safe hands/reliable"

When the audience was listening to Charles repeat the name of Macintosh, there was a temporary gap a moment of waiting before the next comment could be feed in .. and that was a suggestion by the Margret, which she placed inside the quotes of "Mrs Landingham asked me to ask you" … story saying … “he’s the only one she can trust …”

Mmm, so I wonder have you ever seen any expert persuaders and reality shapers use a similar technique?
So as you watch TV this week, notice how the writers put the dialogue on your favorite program together. See if you can observe where the product placement is happening. All the most popular shows will have a lot of money paid for covert placement and positive associations to their products…
How can you use this approach in your own communications to embed suggestions inside your dialogue. Milton (Erickson) was an expert at this, layering embedded suggestion inside suggestion, inside one story after another and so can you be with practice and intentional use of presuppositional language.

As someone once said "NLP isn't difficult, it's more about doing the right things until they become easy and the easy things until you've got them right." There are ample opportunities to use embedded suggestions. Go put four examples into action today. As always freel free to post any questions or comments you've got below.

Taking the NLP skills you've learned and being able to use them effortlessly outside of the training room is a problem that seems to face many NLPers. Hundreds of NLPers from all around the world have shared through our regular surveys many of the key frustrations they have and a top one is how can I translate my NLP skills more from the training room to the boardroom, business room and bedroom! to name a few.

To be fair, this kind of problem isn't restricted to just NLP. When anyone is being trained there is a fine line between teaching the concepts and theory of a discipline - which will allow you to generalise more easily the concepts but you may have  a difficult time finding practical applications vs. teaching a specific step by step technique which will allow you to quickly get a skill but typically people then have difficulty applying it to other contexts. Any good training will address both.

One common application of this challenges many NLP folk report is how can they get past a clients habit (and indeed our own) of focusing on the problem and starting from that place. Often a person can accidentally re-inforce the present/problem state and find it hard to get the client to shift regardless of what pattern they run.

So if you are new to NLP and want to lift your NLP skills to a higher level or not already doing what I am about to suggest then make sure you follow the formula of

Desired State - Present State - Resources

when working with any client (including yourself)

and not

Present State - Desired State - Resources

which I have seen many NLPers fall into.

Although you might think this is only a semantic difference, by approaching your change work from this place you will find you can make the required change much easier and as you elicit a clear well formed outcome that the client wants you will begin to charge and attract that desired state into being.

If like many NLP Practitioners you start by focusing on the problem state you restrict your client from accessing the kind of clearing that they can choose a compelling and desirable end goal, free from the limitations of their current "reality".

And this approach can be applied to anywhere you are assisting your clients such as a consultancy, coaching or even parental context. The context doesn't matter, rather following the approach of figuring out up front, what does the client want, what is their current situation and what resources do they have or need to bring to bear in order to get to their desired state from their current starting point.

By starting your engagements this way you will set the frame towards creating a solution. Of course you want to make sure that whatever they say their desired state is, is indeed one that is solvable and within their domain of control (e.g. solve world hunger vs. feed 100 people this Christmas and inspire 20 other people to do the same).

So as you are out and about this month, use the NLP formula of desired state - present state - resources to enhance your own thinking and help others. In no time at all you'll find your skills can move to a whole new level.